Tathavade or Santoshgad,
hill fort lies in the north-west corner of the Phaltan taluka, about 12 miles
south-west of Phaltan, the taluka headquarters! The fort is roughly triangular
in shape. The local tradition is that this fort was built by Shivaji the Great
(1630-80). In 1666 it was in the hands of Bajaji Naik Nimbalkar. In the same
year Chhatrapati Shivaji after the treaty of Purandhar served under Jaysing,
the Rajput general of Aurangzeb's army, against Bijapur and with his Mavlas
escaladed Tathavade. [Grant Duffs Marathas, Vol. I, 165.] The Bijapur
Government again apparently got it back from the Moghals probably by treaty.
Chhatrapati Shivaji retook it for himself in 1673 [Grant Duffs Marathas, Vol.
I, 202.] And in 1676 he had to retake the open country in its neighborhood, the
estate-holders of which were always ready to rebel against him.[ Grant Duffs
Marathas, Vol. I, 209.] The fort was taken by the Moghals in 1689. [Grant Duffs
Marathas, Vol. I, 273.]. But was ceded to Shahu in 1720 in the imperial grants
made to him in that year. [Grant Duffs Marathas, Vol. I, 339] in a revenue
statement of about 1790 Tathora appears as the head of a sub-division in the
Nahisdurg sarkar with revenue of Rs. 1,120. [Warring's Marathas, 244.] The fort
remained in the hands of the Marathas till 1818 when it was shelled by a
detachment of General Pritzler's army from the plateau and a spur pointed out about
half a mile to the west. A good many of the buildings and part of the walls are
said to have been injured by the shelling. The commandant fled at the first few
shots, the garrison followed, and the fort was taken. Its elaborate design and
considerable strength for the times in which it was built may be explained by
the fact that it was close to the Nizam Shahi frontier and of some importance
therefore to the Bijapur government, while the constant disturbances in the
neighborhood in Chhatrapati Shivajis time would amply account for any additions
he made to it.
A story is told that the
famous dacoit Umaji Naik (1827) was resting at a spring in the ravine which
leads down to the fort from the plateau and that a Brahman on his way to
Tathavad passed by with a little grain given him in charity. Umaji called on
him to stand and give up what he had. But when he learnt that it was only grain
sent him off in peace, entreated his blessings, and gave him Rs. 25
Before visiting to
Santoshgad, I visited a place called Nimbhalkar wada in Wathar, a similar pace
like Shaniwar wada in Pune and then we moved towards Santoshgad. Santoshgad is
around 120kms from Pune. The fort is easy to climb. It takes less than 45 mins
to climb the fort. Route to climb the fort is easy and there are no difficult
patches in between. This fort can be done in one day.
Best time to
Visit:
September to April
What to see?
Bastian,
Fortification, Water cisterns.
Water and Food
No water &
food on the Fort. There are water tanks on the fort but the water is not good
to drink.
Stay / Accommodation
No place to stay
on the Fort.
For more photos see link below
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